The album of Indian and Persian miniatures known as the “St. Petersburg Muraqqa” is a unique collection of art created in the course of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries by 17 artists of the Mughal and Deccan schools of India (now very scarcely existed), and the Isfahan school of Iran. Each leaf is added with specimens of Persian calligraphy by the most celebrated master of nastaliq style Mir ‘Iamd alHasani of Qazvin (1554-1615). The Muraqqa was assembled mainly of the works looted by Nadir Shah during his invasion in India in 1739. It was kept like a precious jewel in Iran, in the Shah’s library and was purchased in Tehran in 1910 for the Russian emperor Nicholas II. Today it is preserved in the collection of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts in St. Petersburg. The album consists of 98 folia sized 33×47.5 cm. Each folio is decorated with miniatures on a variety of topics: among them are scenes of court life, hunt and battle, royal portraits, images of saints, species of flora and fauna. The St. Petersburg Muraqqa is one of the  highest achievements of mankind and preserves the irreplaceable works of the artists, who influenced the Indian and Persian painting world.